Good Job, Alternative Breakers!

Carrie Wood recently described the opportunity 60 TU students will have to serve three hurting communities over Spring Break—Atlanta, Galveston and New Orleans. The article featured a quote from Tierra Fields, director of TU’s Alternative Break Connections.

“You hear about these issues in the news but when you go down there and you see the devastation and you see that six or seven years later people are still living in the aftermath of it," Fields said. "You're really touched and you're really moved to go out and help."

Can you believe it? These American cities are STILL in need. The media have covered countless stories of how our soldiers rebuild Iraq. I find myself getting frustrated because I would like to see these cities restored before those in other countries. Call me selfish, but I see it as a “stewardship/order of priorities” issue.

I am happy to see Towson students come together as citizens to support others and fill in the gaps left by various levels of government. These students join the ranks of thousands of volunteers from groups such as The Red Cross, and ACORN to those from churches and faith-based organizations, such as Mercy Response.

I think Dennis Lim of the NY Times said it well: “Katrina was not just a natural disaster but also a moral and political one.”

The Gulf Coast seems to have received leftovers. If those in power had seen a city of homeless Wall Street executives or congressmen on the news, would it have turned out differently?